


On Thin Ice

by TheAwkwardLadyJay



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Breaking Up & Making Up, Fluff, M/M, chase is a good brother, mentions of past cheating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-28
Updated: 2017-12-28
Packaged: 2019-02-23 08:22:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13186146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAwkwardLadyJay/pseuds/TheAwkwardLadyJay
Summary: Anti screwed up. He knows he screwed up. Now he just needs to figure out how to fix his mistake.





	On Thin Ice

**Author's Note:**

> I strongly debated making this pure angst. But my need for fluff won over, so ya'll get a happy ending!  
> I love breaking up and making up stories. They give me life. Also, Dark and Anti were basically made for these types of tales. They fit them so well!
> 
> Hope you all enjoy!

Anti leans against the wall, his arms folded over his chest as he watches his brother carefully. Chase always insists he join him at the ice rink. The man had asked him several months ago to come and critique his form and Anti had agreed. Chase never let him skip a practice after that.

Anti doesn’t complain though. He enjoys watching his brother improve. Besides, Chase doesn’t need to pay for a coach if Anti is here to tell him what he’s doing wrong. It’s cheaper and it makes Chase happy. Plus, it gives Anti time to take his mind off the empty ache in his chest. As far as Anti is concerned, that’s a win-win for both of them.

"Your form is sloppy," he yells disapprovingly.

Chase grimaces and straightens his back, taking a moment to adjust himself before continuing. His movements are smoother now but he continuously glances down at his feet.

"Keep your eyes up! You can't afford to run into anything!" Anti hollers.

"You're pushing him hard today. He's been going for almost two hours now," a deep voice points out from beside him, "Maybe give him a break."

Anti glares at the man out of the corner of his eye, "Let me coach my way, Dark. He can handle this."

Dark nudges his elbow, "Anti, don't take your frustration out on your brother. He needs a break."

Anti turns to the man, scowl set firmly in place, "I said let me do it my way."

The sound of a body hitting the ice catches their attention and they turn to see Chase splayed out on his back. He slowly clambers to his feet and skates over to the barrier. He leans against it and asks breathlessly, "Is it cool if I take a break, Anti?"

Dark smirks at the smaller coach smugly.

Anti growls but nods, "Let's just be done for today. You got some good practice in. Go ahead and change."

Chase gives Dark a cold stare and skates away.

"What did I say?" Dark purrs, "You need to learn to keep your emotions under control. Otherwise, you might end up working that brother of yours straight into the ice."

"Shut up," Anti snarls, "Don't you have a girl to be screwing right now?"

Dark’s expression shifts into something unreadable, “I suppose that depends on who you ask.”

Anti barks out a harsh laugh, "Right. Why are you here, Dark?"

"Anti, please,” Dark sighs, “Let me explain.”

Anti turns to him, his expression cold and emotionless, "You cheated, Dark. You were with a naked woman and I saw you. I don’t need you to explain anything.”

“I’m with naked women all the time,” Dark cried, “It is literally part of my job to paint them!

“Last time I checked you didn’t have to be on top of someone to paint them,” Anti snarls, “Don’t bother me again.”

Dark tries to grab him but Anti is already gone.

He finds Chase quickly, the skater already changed and chugging away at a water bottle. "If you keep drinking like that, you're going to choke yourself."

Chase huffs and finishes the bottle, chucking it at the garbage, "What did Dark want?"

Anti rolls his eyes, "What do you think?"

"He's still trying to get back with you? Seriously?"

"He's stubborn. It's one of the best and worst things about him," Anti mumbles. He lifts Chase's bag onto his shoulder and tosses the man the keys, "Go start the car. Our pass is almost expired. I need to renew it."

Chase wanders off and Anti heads for the main desk. He pulls out his wallet and settles in the line to wait. It doesn’t take long for Dark to find him.

A hesitant hand lands on his shoulder. He rolls his eyes and steps away from the touch, "I thought I told you to leave me alone."

"Anti, just listen. I’ll make it quick, I promise. Please. I don’t want to give up what we had because of a simple misunderstanding.”

Anti grits his teeth. He keeps an arms distance between him and Dark but he doesn’t say anything else until his pass is renewed and he is out of the building.

Dark is right behind him.

As soon as they are out of earshot of the people filing in and out of the ice rink, Anti flips around, his face twisted into a snarl, "A simple misunderstanding!? Is that what they call cheating nowadays? Don't even try to pretend that nothing happened! I saw you with her, Dark! She was naked and you were on top of her and from the looks of it you were about to lose your clothes too!" Tears well in his eyes. "I loved you, Dark. I really did. I still do, damn it! I don’t know why, but I do! I still want to be with you, despite everything. So, please, if you have one good reason why I shouldn’t have broken up with you, tell me now.”

Dark’s eyes are wet when he responds, “I didn’t cheat. I admit that I was in a compromising position but I did not cheat on you.”

A quiet sob rips from Anti. The ache in his chest throbs. He covers his mouth and turns away, “I… I wish I could believe you, I really do. But I just can’t, Dark. I need some time. I don’t know what to think anymore.”

Dark looks lost, “Why not, Anti? You should know me well enough to know that this isn’t me. I would never cheat on the person I love.”

Tears continue to trickle down his cheeks as he turns away from Dark, “That’s exactly what the last cheater said. Goodbye, Dark.”

He tosses Chase's bag into the back seat and clambers into the passenger side. Chase eyes him worriedly but doesn’t say anything. The ride home is made in silence, the only sound that of Anti's sniffles.

As soon as they pull into the driveway, Anti is out of the car and in the house. He races up the stairs and into his room, slowly pushing the door closed behind him, his whole body trembling. He stares at the doorknob for a minute before sliding to the ground, sobs wracking his form.

The memory of finding his boyfriend screwing another person dances through his mind. He covers his mouth and screams.

Hours later, a soft knock on his door wakes him from his emotional turmoil. He stiffly stands and wipes his cheeks, "What do you want, Chase?"

"I made some hot chocolate. I thought you could use some."

Anti sighs. He doesn’t want to talk about any of this right now but he really could use some comfort, "Thanks. I'll be down in a sec."

He does his best to make himself look presentable then stumbles down to the kitchen. Chase is sitting at the table, a cup of the warm drink nestled between his hands. Another one is set across from him.

Anti settles into the seat and sips from the cup. Warmth washes over him but the feeling of Chase's eyes on him quickly chases it away. "Please, can we not talk about it right now," he whispers, his voice hoarse from crying, "I just want to forget him."

Chase fidgets uncomfortably, "I know he hurt you and I don’t want to make you remember bad memories but… Anti, you’ve never actually told me what he did. It’s been a week and you’ve refused to talk about it, which is fine. I just… I do want to help you but I can’t if I don’t know what happened. Do you think you can talk about it?”

Anti's gaze hardens, "He cheated, that’s what he did. He lied and he cheated.”

"Oh,” Chase whispers, looking pale, “I’m sorry, Anti.”

Silence falls between them. Eventually, Anti breaks it. He slams his cup onto the table and spits, “He did it just before our anniversary, of all things! He told me he wasn’t going to be home that day so imagine my confusion when I walked into the apartment and heard laughter coming from Dark’s art room. I followed it, of course. Nobody was supposed to be home. I thought it was a burglar. But it was Dark and some blonde bitch he had found who the hell knows where. She must have been a client because she was naked. But he was top on her, his face buried in her neck. I ran before either of them could see. Dark heard the door slam though. He chased me but I’ve always been faster than him. By the time he got out of the building, I was in a cab headed here.”

Pity exudes from Chase, “So you haven’t talked to him at all?”

“Of course not,” Anti snorts, “All he’s going to do is give weak excuses why he did it and expect me to fall back into his arms. I said I was done with cheaters, Chase, and I am. Dark is a master persuader. I’m not going to let him persuade me back into a relationship with him.”

“But you do still want a relationship with him?” Chase mumbles, looking thoughtful.

Anti glares at him, “It doesn’t matter. We’re done.”

“Doesn’t it seem odd to you, though? I mean, Dark wasn’t showing any signs of cheating. He constantly left you in charge of his phone and his email, he made sure that all of his friends knew who you were, he spent every weekend with you and rarely stayed at work late.”

“There’s a first time for everything,” Anti grumbles.

“Not to mention,” Chase continues, ignoring his brother, “the way he looked at you. When you two were together, you were obviously in love. And today he looked at you like you were the only star in his universe. It just doesn’t add up.”

Anti settles a glare on Chase, shiny tears nestled in the corner of his eyes, “You don’t get it, Chase. None of that matters. It doesn’t matter how he looked at me, it doesn’t matter that he never did something like this before. He made a decision and that’s all it takes. Now can we please talk about something else?”

Chase doesn’t look happy about it but he lets the subject drop. After a healthy moment of silence passes, he starts talking about a new trick he learned earlier.

Anti sips at his hot chocolate and tries to listen but what Chase said nibbles at his mind. What if this really is just a misunderstanding?

He shakes the thought away before it can plant itself any deeper. It doesn’t matter. The decision is made and that is that. It is done. They are done.

More tears prickle at the edges of his eyes. He quickly blinks them away.

A few days later, Chase's skates break. The man is understandably upset. They were the first and only pair he had. Until they could find him a new set, he was going to have to use the rentals at the rink. Nobody was happy about this.

Anti scrolls through his phone in search of a new pair while Chase grumbles about his new blisters next to him.

"You should have told me they were getting worn out," Anti mumbles, "I would have bought you a new pair a while ago."

Chase scowls at his own phone, "How was I supposed to know? They looked the exact same as when we bought them."

They fall back into angry silence until Chase lets out a triumphant yell, "Here!" he shoves his phone into Anti's face, "These are perfect!"

Anti looks over the details. "Okay. I'll go pick them up tomorrow."

Chase fist pumps the air.

Anti rolls his eyes at his brother's energy and stands, "I'm going to bed. Don't stay up too late. Good night."

Chase waves half-heartedly, his gaze still on his phone as he types furiously. Anti sighs and trudges to his bed, flopping onto it and groaning into his pillow. He curls around his blankets and attempts to force his brain to shut down. However, like every other night since the breakup, all he manages to do is think about Dark and the empty feeling in his chest that never goes away.

Tears leak from his eyes. Once again, he cries himself to sleep.

The next morning, he leaves to get Chase's new skates. The faster he gets this over with the sooner he can get his brother back on the ice and the less he has to deal with the man's pitying gaze.

Getting the skates was easy. He showed up, paid and got ready to leave. However, when he walks back into the parking lot, his eyes fall on a very familiar car. He curses and jogs back to his own car. He fumbles with his keys, dropping them in the snow.

"Shit," he growls, digging through the cold to get them. Before he is able to grab them, a tan hand reaches down and plucks them up.

"I think you dropped something."

He looks up and meets Dark's eyes, "Give them back."

He lunges for them but Dark easily holds them out of his reach, "Not until you let me talk. Please, Anti."

The green haired man glares at him and huffs, "How did you even know I was going to be here?"

Dark smirks sadly, "Chase told me. He listened to my side of the story and he agrees that we need to talk."

Anti curses, "I'm going to kill him." He eyes his keys, which are still being held captive and sighs, "Fine. I'll listen. But make it quick."

Dark smiles softly and gestures to his car, "Let's go somewhere a little warmer."

They end up in an Arby's. There was nothing but silence between them until they have their food. And then Dark starts to talk.

"I understand why you're upset. I would be too if I thought I saw you with someone else like that. However, I need you to know that we were not having sex. We weren't even planning on having sex."

Anti glowers, "You were on top of her."

Dark rolls his eyes, "Yes, I realize where I was." He sighs heavily and fishes out his phone, flicking through his images before he holds it out to Anti, "Here. This is why she was there and why she was naked."

Anti eyes the picture, his stomach twisting.

It is of a half-naked girl with moonlight washing over her. She’s extremely pretty, her smile bright enough to fill any room. Anti recognizes her immediately, of course. It’s Amy, Dark's long-time friend.

He looks down at the corner of the image, searching for Dark's signature and the date. He finds them quickly. His face pales. The picture is dated to the day after they broke up.

"You were… painting… her." He feels sick.

Dark pockets his phone, "Yes, I was. It was for a painting I was going to give you. I know how much you love Greek mythology, especially the stories about Artemis and Apollo, so she was going to be Artemis and you were Apollo. That’s why I didn’t tell you she would be there. I didn’t want to ruin the surprise.” He stretches his hand out, as if he’s going to place it on Anti’s, but stops himself. He folds his hand over the other and cracks his neck, a nervous habit that used to drive Anti insane.

"When you came home,” Dark continues, “we were just getting everything set up. She slipped and fell and I tried to catch her. As you can guess, I wasn't successful. When I heard the door slam, I knew immediately what you were thinking. I tried to catch you and explain but you were already gone by the time I got outside. I waited for you to come back, an explanation and an apology ready on my lips. But you never did. And then you broke up with me and took all of your things and I didn’t want to believe that you were really done. So I tried to get you to listen to me but you always refused. I don’t blame you, though. I wouldn’t have either.”

Anti feels numb. He meets Dark's teary eyes. He tries to say something, apologize, anything. Nothing comes out. He looks down at the table, at his cold hamburger and fries. There is nothing he can do to fix this. He’s screwed up big time.

He opens his mouth to speak but all that comes out is a pathetic squeak.

Dark stands and grabs his coat, “I do love you, Anti. I have for a long time. So when I say I hope you find a man who you can put all your trust in, I mean it. I won’t bother you again after this. I just wanted you to hear my side of the story.”

He picks up his untouched food and dumps it, leaving the restaurant before Anti can even bring himself to move.

Chase was right. It was just a misunderstanding. Dark hadn't cheated. It was all just a misunderstanding.

He lurches out of his seat and chases after Dark, his throat clenching uncomfortably, "Dark, wait!" he croaks, grabbing the man's shoulder, "Wait, please! I'm sorry. You didn’t cheat! Wait!”

Dark turns to him, his eyes wet and his mouth set in a thin line, "I know I didn’t cheat, Anti."

Tears trickle down Anti's face. His whole body, his heart, his very soul, hurts. He can’t believe this. He’s ruined everything.

"Dark, please, give me one more chance," he whispers, clinging weakly to the man's shirt, "I know I screwed up. I know that. I just- I saw you with her and I thought- I’m so scared of being cheated on again that that’s all I can think about sometimes. I should have let you talk but I didn’t want to accept that you were just like the others. I didn’t want you to be a cheater, Dark. I figured it was better to just let you go than have to accept that.”

A soft sigh from the other man is the only warning before Anti is wrapped in strong arms. Dark buries his nose in Anti's hair and whispers, "I forgive you, Anti. I should have told you that Amy was going to be there. We both screwed up in this. We both made mistakes. I understand that you’ve been cheated on to many times to trust easily but I need to know that eventually, you will be able to trust me. Can you do that, Anti?”

Anti's heart twists painfully and a sob shakes his frame.

Dark tightens his grip on him, "Please, Anti. I can’t go through this again. I can’t go through you breaking up with me because you don’t believe me. Please.”

He buries his face in Dark's chest, "I can't promise it will happen quickly but I can promise from now on, I will work until I can say that I trust you with my life." He looks back up as more tears leak down his cheeks. His chest fills with air for what feels like the first time, "I promise from now on I'll tell you how much you mean to me with every breath. Every touch will hold my love for you. Every word will be used to show you how much I care."

Dark lets out a heavy sigh and smiles down at him, a thumb gently stroking his wet cheek, "I'll be looking forward to it."

He leans down and gently presses their lips together. Anti hums happily into the kiss. It ends far too quickly but they still stand there for a few more minutes, gazing into each other’s eyes, happy and in love in front of the Arby’s.

**Author's Note:**

> Do you have questions, concerns or just want to talk?  
> Feel free to drop by my tumblr! I'm always willing to talk about anything!
> 
> theawkwardladyjay.tumblr.com


End file.
